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Thursday, January 8, 2015

Vatican City, 8 January 2014 (VIS) –
This morning in the Sanctae Marthae Chapel the Holy Father celebrated
Mass for the victims of the attack in Paris yesterday, in which
twelve people were killed and several were seriously injured. “The
attack makes us think of great cruelty, human cruelty; of such
terrorism, both isolated terrorism and state terrorism. The cruelty
of which man is capable! Let us pray, in this Mass, for the victims
of this cruelty. So many of them! And let us also pray for those who
perform these cruel acts, so that the Lord might transform their
hearts”.

Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro
Parolin has sent a telegram on behalf of the Holy Father to Cardinal
Andre Vingt-Trois, archbishop of Paris, France, the full text of
which is published below:

“Upon learning of the terrible attack
in Paris on the offices of 'Charlie Hebdo', which has claimed
numerous victims, His Holiness Pope Francis joins in prayer with the
suffering of the bereaved families and the sadness of all the French
people. He entrusts the victims to God, full of mercy, and prays that
He will welcome them in His light. He expresses his deepest sympathy
for the injured and their families, and asks that the Lord console
and comfort them in their ordeal. The Holy Father reiterates his
condemnation of the violence that generates such suffering, and
praying that God grant the gift of peace, he invokes a divine
blessing for the afflicted families and the French people”.

“The Holy Father expresses his
strongest condemnation of the horrendous attack this morning that
plunged the city of Paris into mourning, claiming a large number of
victims, sowing death and causing consternation throughout the whole
of French society, and profoundly disturbing all those who favour
peace, well beyond the French borders.

Pope Francis participates in prayer in
the suffering of the wounded and of the families of the deceased, and
urges opposition by every means to the propagation of hate and every
form of violence, both physical and moral, that destroys human life,
violates the dignity of human beings, and radically undermines the
foundations of peaceful co-existence between persons and peoples,
notwithstanding differences of nationality, religion and culture.

Whatever the motive may be, homicidal
violence is abominable and never justifiable; the life and dignity of
all must be guaranteed and protected decisively, every incitement to
hate must be denied, and respect for others must be nurtured.

The Pope expresses his closeness, his
spiritual solidarity and his support for all those who, in accordance
with their various responsibilities, continue to make constant
efforts for peace, justice and the rule of law, to heal the causes
and sources of hate in this painful and dramatic moment, in France
and in every part of the world affected by tensions and violence”.

Vatican City, 8 January 2015 (VIS) –
This morning the Holy Father received in audience a delegation from
the World Community of Yezidi, according to the director of the Holy
See Press Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J. The delegation was led
by the Head of all the Yezidi, Mir Tahsin Said Ali Beg, and their
supreme spiritual Head, the “Baba Sheikh”, Sheikh Khato, both
resident in Iraqi Kurdistan. The group also comprised three
representatives of the Yezidi of North Iraq, Georgia and the diaspora
in Germany.

During the meeting, which lasted
approximately half an hour and took place in the private library of
the Apostolic Palace, the delegation thanked the Pope – indicated
by one of the delegates as the “father of the poor” –for his
support for the Yezidi in this time of persecution and suffering.
They informed the Pope of the situation of around five thousand
Yezidi women reduced to slavery by the ISIS, and emphasised the good
relations between Yezidi and Christians, emphasising their mutual
solidarity. Pope Francis assured the delegates of his spiritual
closeness and his support in these challenging times, and expressed
his hope that soon it will be possible to restore justice and the
conditions for a free and peaceful life for the Yezidi, as well as
all other minority groups who are the object of discrimination and
violence.

There are around one and a half million
Yezidi throughout the world, of whom half a million are in Iraq;
there are others in Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, and in diaspora in many
other countries.

Vatican City, 8 January 2015 (VIS) –
This morning the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue
published the following declaration:

“As we reach the end of the meeting
in Rome of the four Imams of France, who attended yesterday’s
general audience along with the delegation from the French Episcopal
Conference, the participants, shocked by the heinous attack on 7
January 2015 on the offices of the publication “Charlie Hebdo”,
wish once more to echo the words pronounced by Pope yesterday and
this morning, denouncing this cruelty and blind violence. Like him,
we invite believers to show through friendship and prayer their human
and spiritual solidarity towards the victims and their families.

In these circumstances, it should be
noted that, without freedom of speech, the world is in danger: it is
imperative to oppose hate and every form of violence that destroys
human life, violates the dignity of the person and radically
undermines the foundation of peaceful co-existence between persons
and peoples, notwithstanding differences of nationality, religion and
culture.

Religious leaders are called upon to
further promote a “culture of peace and hope” able to conquer
fear and to build bridges between people.

Considering the impact of the media,
their leaders are invited to offer information that is respectful of
religions, their followers and their practices, thus favouring a
culture of encounter.

Interreligious dialogue remains the
only path to follow together to dissipate prejudice”.

The communique is signed by Cardinal
Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for
Interreligious Dialogue, Bishop Michel Dubost of Evry-Corbeil et
Essonnes, president of the Council for Interreligious Relations of
the Bishops' Conference of France, the Imams Tareq Oubrou, Azzedine
Cami, Mohammed Moussaoui, Djelloul Seddiki and Fr. Roucou, director
of the National Service for Relations with Islam, France.

Vatican City, 8 January 2015 (VIS) –
The Holy Father has appointed Msgr. Joel Mercier, as secretary of the
Congregation for the Clergy, at the same time elevating him to the
dignity of archbishop. The archbishop-elect was born in
Chaudesfonds-sur-Layon, France in 1945 and was ordained a priest in
1970. He holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy and a licentiate in
theology from the Universite Catholique de l'Ouest in Angers, and a
licentiate and doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical Gregorian
University, Rome. He has served in a number of pastoral and
administrative roles, including parish vicar in the “Saint-Joseph”
parish in Angers, chaplain of Catholic colleges and high schools in
Angers, and secretary to the bishop of Angers. He has also served as
member of the ecclesiastical tribunal in the Pays de Loire and
teaches in the faculty of theology, Angers. He is currently an
official of the Congregation for Bishops and spiritual director of
the French Seminary in Rome. He was named Chaplain of His Holiness in
2005.